Indian history and culture

Counts for 22 exams in this list — UPSC examinations and state PSC civil services. Prepare it once; see the overlap map for every exam that shares it.

What it covers

• Ancient India: sources, Harappan civilisation, Vedic age, Mauryan and Gupta periods, early medieval dynasties
• Medieval India: Sultanate and Mughal rule, Bhakti and Sufi movements, Marathas and regional kingdoms
• Modern India: colonial rule, 1857, social reformers, the freedom movement and its leaders, post-1947 consolidation
• Art and culture: architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dance, literature and heritage sites
• State history and culture (for state PSC exams, alongside the core above)

Official syllabi this matches

• UPSC Civil Services: Prelims GS I (history of India, Indian national movement); Mains GS I (art forms, literature, architecture; modern history; freedom struggle; post-independence). Notification via https://upsc.gov.in, applications at https://upsconline.nic.in
• UPSC NDA and NA: GAT Part B gives history and the freedom movement about 20%. Notice: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/Notif-NDA-II-2026-Engl-200526.pdf
• UPSC CAPF (Assistant Commandant): Paper I tests history with polity, economy and geography. Notice: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/ExamNotifi_CAPF_AC_Exam_2026_Eng_20022026.pdf
• BPSC Combined Competitive Examination: general history plus Bihar-specific history and culture. Syllabus at https://bpsc.bih.nic.in

Depth by exam family

Family	What the exam rewards
UPSC CSE	Deepest: factual Prelims plus analytical Mains answers on art, modern India and post-1947
UPSC CAPF, CDS, NDA, IFoS	Factual GS questions; freedom movement and the basics of ancient and medieval India
State PSC civil services	The same core plus state-specific history, art and culture

Where it counts

Family	Exams
UPSC	UPSC CAPF (Assistant Commandant), UPSC Civil Services (CSE), UPSC Combined Defence Services (CDS), UPSC Indian Forest Service (IFoS), UPSC NDA and NA
State PSC civil services	APPSC Group 1, APSC Combined Competitive Examination (Assam), BPSC Combined Competitive Examination, CGPSC State Service Examination, GPSC Class 1–2 (Gujarat), HPSC HCS (Haryana Civil Services), JPSC Combined Civil Services, KPSC KAS (Karnataka Administrative Service), MPPSC State Service Examination, MPSC State Services (Rajyaseva), OPSC Odisha Civil Services, RPSC RAS/RTS, TGPSC (Telangana) Group 1, TNPSC Group 1, UKPSC Combined State Civil Services, UPPSC PCS (Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services), WBCS (West Bengal Civil Service)

Free resources

• NCERT history textbooks, Class 6–12 (the base of every topic above): https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php
• Archaeological Survey of India, for monuments and heritage sites: https://asi.nic.in
• NPTEL humanities courses, for free video lectures on Indian history and culture: https://nptel.ac.in

How to practise

Make one timeline per period and revise it weekly; pin every art form and monument to its period on a map. Then solve the official previous papers of your target exam topic by topic.